This invention relates to a sanitary toilet seat ring lift which permits the user to lift the toilet seat ring without touching the bowl or its spattered contents.
In addition to statutes requiring sanitary toilet seat ring lifts in public restrooms, the desirability of a lift which permits a person to raise a toilet seat ring without soiling his hand has long been recognized. Representative prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,555 to Adams.
Typically, lifts have a gripping portion which extends laterally from a member attached to the underside of a toilet seat. Most of these lifts have one fault in common, the susceptibility of their gripping portions to be soiled by the spattered contents of the toilet bowl. This common fault defeats their intended purpose as a sanitary precaution.
Adams U.S. Pat. No. 1,999,555 attempted to overcome this fault by adding a depending flange in forming part of the gripping portion. However, the flange only protects a certain segment of the gripping portion as its bottom edge curves upwardly toward the underside of the gripping portion near the ear portion which is attached to the underside of the toilet seat. This curvature permits the spatter to pass through the space between the seat and the bowl onto the upwardly curved bottom edge of the flange. The bottom edge can spray the spatter onto the gripping portion.
Moreover, the handle extends laterally and is offset upwardly from the ear portion to leave a gap between the handle and the peripheral edge of the seat. The combination of the longitudinally extending handle and gap presents a hazard to the user and his clothing. Inadvertently, the user could easily impale his leg on the protruding handle lip when standing up or moving to the side of the toilet. A further inadvertency by the user could result in snagging his clothing on the handle.